Glory set down the final piece of his armor, breathing a sigh of relief now that his long task of bringing over all of his things from Monoceros was complete. The area around his forge was cluttered, much as it was in his cave before. Half finished projects were piled together haphazardly while complete projects were in a more neat line, but still didn’t have a place to call home yet. It would be work turning this corner of the Underforge into a proper living space, but it felt secondary to the task at hand.

Because, at last, he had the means of enchanting and he knew exactly what he was going to enchant first.

Pulling his newly forged armor close, he considered what spells he could put on to make at least some of it lighter. He’d already forged it with a light but strong metallic alloy, but it still made flight difficult - especially the wing bits.

Well…he had just the things, then. For the wings and chest plate, he would enchant them to be lighter, while the helmet he would make self-healing, perhaps. Or a fire resistance, so that setting himself on fire didn’t hurt….as much, at least. It could be used as a powerful weapon instead!

He turned the wing pieces over in his front talons, taking a moment to focus, as the Blacksmith had taught him. Channeling all the magic he could muster, the flame-like jewel on his head heated for a moment as power flowed into the metal. It glowed, as if hot on a forge, and Glory could feel it’s power beneath him, awaiting a spell.

With the metal awaiting a spell to properly enchant, Glory decided to try something he hadn’t done before - instead of flame or earth, he called on power of wind, to make him lighter, swifter. More agile in the air, even when wearing the armor. However, unfamiliarity with this brand of magic made the spell sputter and fail. The glow on the armor faded as the spell fizzled and Glory clacked his beak, mildly frustrated. That was okay, he could try again.

Again, he pressed power into the metal, feeling his body heat again as the armor began to glow, pulsing faint and colorless. It wasn’t as strong as the last attempt, but that was okay. It was working, and that, frankly, was all that mattered right now.

Already feeling a bit of exhaustion, from the sheer force that enchanting was taking out of him, Glory steeled himself and tried again, pressing the magic of wind into the glowing metal. He imagined soaring through the air, light as a bird. He imagined the winds of the cave picking up, speeding him along and sending him speeding through the tunnels at speeds unmatched. The wind at his side, under his wings. It would keep him aloft.

The magic worked, he felt it flood the metal. A pale#blue glow emanated from the armor for a moment before it settled, returning to its normal state.

Glory stared at it for a moment before, in a sudden surge of excitement, made to equip it over his wings and shoulders. It fit perfectly, of course, modified for his new body, and as it slipped onto his feathers, he immediately felt the change. He could feel the weight, but he felt, as a whole, far lighter than before. Like he could soar the entirety of Leo and never grow tired.

With the wing piece enchanted, he moved onto the breastplate. It was two big pieces of metal connected by a strap and would take the brunt of force. It was also the heaviest piece so he had to decide, as he set it down to enchant, if he were going to lighten this one too, or have another enchantment.

His magic flooded the breastplate, shocking even him with how powerful it was, and a bright colorless glow emanated from the light metal. His eyes gleamed and he knew that the enchantment he put on this piece would be special, as long as his magic didn’t fail him again.

He made to lay an enchantment on the metal that would give him safety against fire - he could imagine it now, falling from the sky, a flaming fireball to crash against his enemies. But the previous spell had worn him out and as he pushed magic forward to complete the enchantment, he felt pain streak across his head and the spell fizzled. The glow in the armor faded fast.

Cursing under his breath, he pulled away, feeling his body ache.

Not discouraged, but realizing that he would have to rest soon, Glory surged forward again to try a second time. It worked, but not as powerful as the first time. Still, the glow that came from the breastplate was strong.

He stepped back for a moment to take a deep breath. He hoped his magic would not fail him again.

He pressed a talon against the metal again, going back to that thought of the wind holding him up in the sky. It might be smarter to have an extra enchantment of lightness on the heaviest piece of his armor. The helmet would be good to have the flame enchantment on.

The thoughts of wind and flying surged, giving that same pale blue glow for a moment before the armor settled and the enchantment soaked into the alloy. Glory took a heaving breath, stumbling back from the armor from his exhaustion. He hadn’t had such an intense session of magic in a while -enchanting was quite tiring.

There was only the helmet left, for now, and what he had completed of the armor would be fully enchanted. He would have to make more - his mutated form would need leg guard, maybe some arm guards or gloves as well. But for now, his exhaustion took over, he didn’t even bother moving to his nest, curling up right there on the floor and falling asleep.

*exit